Reggie Townsend leads SAS’ global AI Ethics, Governance and Social Impact organization, overseeing the company’s Data & AI Ethics Practice; AI & Society initiatives; AI Governance Advisory; Standards, Regulations & Risk Intelligence programs; and SAS’ Accessible & Adaptive AI efforts. He drives SAS’ commitment to trustworthy, human‑centric innovation across products, policies and partnerships. A nationally recognized voice in AI governance, Reggie serves on the board of EqualAI and has advised the White House as a member of the National AI Advisory Committee. His career includes leadership roles in cloud, consulting and managed services for health care and life sciences. A frequent global speaker and advisor, Reggie has counseled government leaders worldwide, appeared on major stages and been published in JAMA. A proud Chicagoan, Reggie is an engineering, business and leadership alum of Southern Illinois University, Illinois Institute of Technology and the University of Chicago.
I recently had two incredible opportunities: to visit the White House for a landmark executive order signing and to make remarks at a US Senate AI Insight Forum. The AI Insight Forum was part of a bipartisan Congressional effort to develop guardrails that ensure artificial intelligence is both transformative and
Embracing AI is wonderful. From a practical business perspective, though, there are limits. This issue is broader than AI. However, I’ll constrain the conversation to that for now, given the attention AI is getting these days. Yes, some processes are undoubtedly good candidates for automation, but avoiding “technocentrism” is critical to
As AI rapidly advances over the next several years, I’ve been fortunate to have an active role in helping to guide a responsible path forward when it comes to technology’s impact on our daily lives. Currently, this role includes serving as Vice President for the SAS Data Ethics Practice, as an
